Honoring our Veterans!

A part of our district’s “world-class goals” is to teach our students to embrace and practice “grit.” Among others, we point to a special group that practices what we preach. Each November, we honor our community’s veterans for their grit, their courage, and their sacrifice.

My own dad was a World War II Marine private who fought and was wounded in Okinawa. He died 5 years ago in his sleep, surrounded by his family, and underneath his favorite bright red Marine Corps blanket. At the funeral thereafter, a young soldier handed my mom the American flag and expressed “the thanks of a grateful nation.” (See video below.)

Thankfully, there is now a new birth of appreciation for our military, overcoming the ingratitude of the 1960s/1970s hippies. While overdue, it is most welcome.

Each of our 23 schools finds its own way to recognize and honor these men and women on or about November 11. There are special breakfasts and lunches. There are nighttime presentations and videos. There are concerts and assemblies. Hundreds of our veterans are invited, and many come.

Now let me get out of the way and let a veteran speak. This Vietnam vet attended the event at Rustic Oak Elementary and wrote to the principal thereafter:

Dear Mrs. West:

I want to thank you and all of your staff and teachers that helped to prepare the Veterans Day program at your school. Having all of the adult females in my family teaching in either Pearland or Pasadena ISD, I know what it takes to put on such a production. I applaud you for doing this for the veterans in our community.

As a veteran of the Vietnam War (1968-1969), your program now has a special place in my heart. Hopefully, I can explain this without “tear staining” the paper. I was barely 19 years old when my draft number was called. To avoid the draft, I enlisted so that I could choose my specialty training. Following Combat Medic training, I was shipped to Dau Tieng, RVN, as a Medical Corpsman assigned to Company B, 25th Medical Battalion, 25th Infantry Division. There, I saw many unspeakable things when wounded soldiers and civilians were brought to our field hospital.

Thursday evening as the children sang “American Tears,” I began to have flashbacks of some of the senseless deaths and destruction. One was seeing a fellow medic shot in the head and killed the night before he was scheduled to return home. Another was as our base camp was overrun by NVA during a nine-hour firefight that resulted in 147 NVA and 99 American soldiers killed. It was during these flashbacks and the singing of “American Tears” by the children that I, for the first time, knew why I fought in that senseless war so many years ago. It was so that these children could sing “American Tears” while I silently cried.

That song and my tears made all of the hate, hate speech and throwing of vegetables and eggs at us as I returned from Vietnam in Oakland, CA, worth it. I would do it again without hesitations. Freedom is NOT free, but American men and women in the military will give their life for your right to be FREE!

Sincerely, and with great appreciation for all educators,
CLIFF FARLEY – PawPaw to both Madelynn and Morgan

May God bless Cliff Farley and ALL of those who served our great nation!

 

FIGHTING UNWISE LEGISLATION

I’m fighting a quixotic losing battle against Austin utopians and their  media surrogates who want to place even more mandates on HEAVILY BURDENED public schools. There are literally hundreds of proposed bills each session that try to do this — and many of them succeed. In a previous blog, I described the problems with current legislative efforts to water down truancy laws by shifting the burden to schools. I recently testified in Austin against that bill as an example of unnecessary unfunded mandates and intrusive state control. But I was astounded by the cast rounded up in support of that bad bill.

The first speaker was the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. I had the very strong impression he was asked to testify by the bill’s author(s). He believes Texas is misguided and alone in its truancy efforts because of the high volume of  truancy court referrals — and because 48 states have already “de-criminalized” truancy. I sat there with my mouth open, knowing that a national report just touted Texas as having the highest graduation rates in the country for the different ethnicities. Why would we want to imitate states less successful at keeping kids in school? What qualifies the chief justice to weigh in on how best to keep kids in school? He is understandably sympathetic to over-burdened judges and courts, but fighting truancy is all about helping kids, not lessening the workload for lawyers and judges.

After the Senate passed the bill (despite the valiant efforts of Senator Larry Taylor), it was sent to the House Committee on Juvenile Justice. A similar parade of people stepped forward to praise the bill. Among them was a representative from Appleseed, an Austin-based group (many of whom are lawyers) describing itself as “sowing the seeds of justice.”

The Appleseed woman who spoke at the hearing was intelligent, unemotional, and armed with data contending that Texas is mistreating students when referring them to truancy courts rather than making schools do more. I’ve since looked up Appleseed and found their polished report titled “Class, Not Court: Reconsidering Texas’ Criminalization of Truancy.” At first blush, their findings and recommendations might seem reasonable. But they repeatedly ignore the statistical warning that “correlation does not imply causation.”

Here’s a simple example of misusing statistics in that way: More people eat ice cream in the summer. More deaths from drowning occur in the summer. Therefore, summer drownings are caused by eating ice cream. There is a positive statistical correlation between ice cream eating and drownings, but one does NOT cause the other!

Appleseed believes that truancy courts are a “pipeline to prison” and that such coercion “dis-incentivizes”  student attendance. Isn’t it more likely that the same factors leading a child to become truant remain when they are adults? Youth truancy convictions and adult criminality are correlated. But it is a mistake to say that one causes the other. Instead, lack of parental/personal discipline and poor character are more likely causes of both truancy and adult crime.

Space prohibits addressing the additional fallacies in Appleseed’s report. Their charts and graphs lead to their pre-conceived ideology, not truth. They would impose new mandates on schools apparently believing in an unlimited supply of money and labor for their brave new world.

Likewise, the Houston Chronicle has had editorial opinions touting the courage of those willing to “de-criminalize” truancy. Not coincidentally, there were well-timed “news reports” in that paper about alleged misuse of the truancy courts elsewhere in Texas. Social utopians and dictators have long used isolated stories of injustice to justify conquest and martial law. The same tactics are now being used to impose further state control over school districts.

Back-slapping Austin cronies huddle together with access to media outlets, lauding their own “enlightened” views. Far from the real battle, these board room generals seek one-sided hard luck stories to justify their heavy-handed intervention. They  ignore individual student/parent responsibility for truancy and cry crocodile tears over the economically disadvantaged. The result is a condescending, paternalistic, and unfunded mess. As a Peace Corps volunteer who taught the poorest in Africa, I can tell you that disadvantaged kids can make it to school on time — from miles away and usually on foot!

Instead, American society now cries loudly, “Fix the system!” I won’t go into the many systems school districts already have in place to help economically disadvantaged students in advance of truancy referrals. I won’t go into our schools’ cooperative efforts with local community agencies to provide food, clothing, tutorials, mentoring, and other services. I won’t elaborate on all the significant money and personnel used for these purposes. Even so, schools cannot do it alone.

We cannot adequately prevent truancy without the prompt backstop provided by the courts. That backstop is NOT the cause of truancy or criminality. The real solution begins and ends with individual responsibility — either self-generated or imposed. When that responsibility is not promptly exercised, the judiciary must swiftly coerce school attendance as best for the child and for America.

I say to students and their parents: Go to school. If you truly have a problem preventing attendance, our school district and others will render both aid and compassion. Don’t listen to those who call you a “victim.” And don’t let Papa Austin tell you it’s the “system’s” fault. Get some grit.

At the risk of being labeled an unenlightened religious nut, let me quote scripture: “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.” Truancy court is the rod. And that’s a better answer than ill-conceived legislation punishing schools for “not doing enough.”

FROM DESPAIR TO HOPE: UNITED FOR KIDS!

Our schools receive notice every day of students suffering intense family/legal/medical crises, including drug arrests, assault charges, suicide, self-mutilation, parental/sexual abuse, teen pregnancies, etc. Though our students outperform most of Texas in terms of academics, fine arts, athletics, and other areas, these life crises touch many of our own. What is the cause? I believe our country’s moral climate is rapidly deteriorating, and many students don’t know where or from Whom real HOPE comes. Our schools and the greater community cannot remain neutral in the culture wars raging around us. Pearland has shown potential to be that “shining city on a hill” rescuing children from despair. Such work is not done in isolation.

The Maginot Line was built by France in the 1930s to protect against a resurgent German military. Trench warfare dominated World War I; thus, the idea was to build an impressive physical boundary against aggression. The long and expensive project consisted of concrete fortifications, obstacles, troops, and weapons. Unfortunately, neutral Belgium next door did not participate. So when Hitler sought to invade France in 1940, the Nazis simply sidestepped around the Maginot Line and invaded France through “neutral” Belgium. Evil found a way, using the ineffective neutrality of a neighboring country. The magnificent Maginot Line was an isolated and ineffective anachronism.

This is a warning for today. The American schools of the 21st century cannot cope, by themselves, with the onslaught of family/youth problems now plaguing our culture. Likewise, community civic organizations, churches, and individuals can’t succeed in isolation nor declare themselves “neutral.” So last school year, our community began meeting together under a “United for Kids” banner. About 50 to 60 of us meet once a month. You are invited.

Some of the participants include the Brazoria County Alliance for Children, the YMCA, United Way, Women in Leadership Society, local churches, Chamber of Commerce, Community Assistance Provider, Goodwill, Kids Hope USA, Pearland ISD administrators, PTAs, Pearland Neighborhood Association, Counseling Connections for Change, political party clubs, Pearland Police Department, city and county administrators/officials, Young Life, Adult Reading Center, Christian Helping Hands, Forgotten Angels,  our local constable, H-E-B, Lion’s Club, Rotary Club, etc. The list goes on.

Members of that group reached out with resources when a family’s home burned down and when another’s became homeless. Others needing emergency medical care were given access and funds overnight. We’ve provided gifts at Christmas to 400 needy families in 2013 and again in 2014. At each meeting, we hear presentations on services provided by community organizations so we know where to turn when kids or families are in need. At our most recent meeting, Women in Leadership and Brazoria County Alliance for Children spoke about helping single moms and abused kids. Then Pastor Hartwell from the Cross Roads Community Church in Pearland gave a detailed presentation on their own large and growing tutorial program (called #iCan) hosted at his church on Wednesday nights. This program reaches out to students at four of our Pearland ISD schools and is designed to give kids the skills, confidence, and encouragement needed to pass state mandated STAAR tests — and to face the daunting challenges of this world.

Allow me another World War II analogy. The tiny village of Le Chambon in southern France came under Nazi occupation in 1940. But under the leadership of local pastors, public school officials, and a private school principal, villagers hid and fed 5,000 Jews and other refugees right under the nose of Nazi evil. The schools grew and thrived. Small church groups met, prayed, and provided food. Sacrifices were made. Lives were saved. A little way down the road, another village called Le Mazet . . . did nothing. The distance between these two villages makes all the difference — then and now. . . .

In today’s culture, many children despair. They place their hopes in harmful and misguided attempts to escape their circumstances. An ancient book provides the ultimate answer: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.” When we work together to save children from despair, surely His blessing is present. Lives are saved. Sacrifices are made. Hope replaces despair.

The next meeting of “United for Kids” will be on April 23, 8:30 a.m., at the Education Support Center, 1928 N. Main in Pearland. Hope to see you then. If you would like to attend, please contact Director of Communications Kim Hocott at hocottk@pearlandisd.org.

TRUANCY “DE-CRIMINALIZED”?

I am extremely concerned about a growing movement among Texas legislators this session to water down legal consequences for truancy and other offenses. In Orwellian doublespeak, proponents of this movement call it “de-criminalization.” The same legislators also use the phrase “school-to-prison pipeline” as justifying their position. Truly, de-criminalization should be called “hyper-criminalization,” and the “school-to-prison pipeline” flooded if the legislation passes.

Let me explain.

Senator Whitmire, a democrat from the Houston area, is chair of the Criminal Justice Committee and is the best-known of many “de-criminalization” bill advocates in Texas. He believes students and parents are too often facing legal consequences for excessive absences from school. I’ve heard him tell a story about overwrought moms calling him with stories about how the judicial system is picking on them despite the many life challenges they face. Though schools have no legal authority over parents, he wants to place an even greater burden on the schools to track down and miraculously compel student attendance. And he calls this “local control” when, in fact, it imposes new state law preventing the local judiciary from acting! I’m sure that he and other legislators do care about students and parents, but the efforts are misguided.

In Pearland ISD, as in most  of Texas, we make mighty efforts to get truant kids in school BEFORE resorting to the courts. Despite what the de-criminalization advocates say, we do have discretion about referrals when there are valid and compassionate reasons to wait. So when we do finally refer the matter to Judge Starkenburg, it is because of a large volume of unexcused absences. The judge is straightforward, merciful, meticulous, and helpful such that the higher goal can be reached: Kids attend school, and parents face up to their responsibilities.

Consequently, we have a drop-out rate here of 1%. We have a high school completion rate north of 96%. We also have a daily attendance rate of 96%. Do we really need our legislators to change what’s working for us?

State and federal politicians combine this “de-criminalization” of truancy with a larger push to stop what they claim is  over-representation of minority students receiving discipline consequences. Democrats have joined Republican Education Commissioner Michael Williams in advocating this effort — as well as President Obama’s Department of Education. The assumption (though never stated) is that legions of racists are making disciplinary decisions — and therefore a quota system to constrain them is necessary. And if such limits are not enforced, society is widening the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

The reverse is true. Does anyone seriously believe that truant students spending all day outside of school are LESS likely to commit crimes leading to a prison record? By allowing students and parents to avoid legal responsibility for truancy and other offenses, society guarantees a new “hyper-criminalized” class of students who don’t attend school, are idle all day, and are MORE likely to use drugs and commit crimes. Consequently, more economically-disadvantaged minority students are disproportionately left WITHOUT a high school diploma, WITH a serious criminal record for offenses committed, and WITHOUT a chance to achieve the American dream. In short, the  diameter of the “school-to-prison pipeline” is widened, not constricted.

After writing my first draft of this column today, I visited one of our schools. As I talked with the principal, we were interrupted by a crisis in the hallway. A young student became angry and disoriented after being caught under the influence of a drug. He began running away from the office. A school police officer was on-site and restrained him before he did further damage to himself or others. He then firmly and compassionately put his arm on the boy’s shoulder, walking him up and down the hallway until the student was calm. That is typical of our police officers and our local judiciary. They return students down the right path when they run away from school.

So let’s be realistic. Most Texans don’t believe that bad behavior is caused by requiring legal consequences for it! I implore our citizens to protest these legislative efforts underway right now in Austin. Otherwise, Texas is GUARANTEEING more drop-outs and more criminal records.

 

MY VIEWS ON ACCOUNTABILITY AND STANDARDIZED TESTING

While I agree that state standardized testing is overdone, my views on testing and accountability are somewhat different from most other Texas superintendents and many members of the public.

Federal accountability: President Bush made a mistake by introducing federal accountability over states and local school districts through No Child Left Behind legislation. Such federal power is NOT found in the U.S. Constitution — and is reserved for the states (see the 10th Amendment). I believe the role of the federal government should be greatly reduced (as President Reagan believed). I admit there has been some beneficial federal intervention/funding in special education and in the area of civil rights. But even those areas are now ever-expanding and perennially under-funded. President Obama has made the situation worse by forcing states to compete for funding (i.e. “Race to the Top”) with “winners” — only those who adhere to the newest federal “fads.” (For brevity’s sake, I won’t go into arguments about the Common Core, teacher evaluation, charter schools, and other such topics.) Most Texas superintendents might agree with me on this….

State accountability: But I strongly disagree with those who want to eliminate or water down state accountability over school districts. I believe Texas SHOULD hold school districts accountable by comparing them on similar measures so it can be determined where each district stands. Many school folks want to completely eliminate state accountability and substitute a locally developed (“community-based”) system. That’s a veiled attempt to avoid comparisons and lower pressure on schools. While folks justify their views under the banner of “local control,” “community priorities,” and “deeper learning,” there remain basic achievement measures upon which ALL districts in Texas should be compared and held accountable.

Just as athletes, teams, and companies strive to be the best, so should all school districts. We SHOULD be compared on various student achievement and financial criteria. We should identify the best among us. And if a school district is awful and content to stay that way, the state should step in and exercise greater oversight.

I believe the current Texas accountability system is useful as a starting place. But it can better distinguish among districts in terms of the challenges unique to each. For example, when wealthy, educationally-advantaged Highland Park ISD students have high test scores, such results are rightfully acknowledged. But I would find quantifiable ways to honor most highly those districts with more challenging demographics that achieve miracles in relation to their realities. Give Highland Park the “Born with a Silver Spoon in Its Mouth” award for high test scores. But give the more prestigious prize to the economically/ethnically diverse district that achieves far beyond what might be predicted. Reward those outliers!

Standardized testing: Yes, standardized testing in Texas has become overkill. I applaud the legislature action in 2013 to reduce the number of  high school STATE tests prior to graduation from 15 to 5. While the entire nation already uses the SAT, the ACT, and AP tests to assess college readiness, it was ridiculous to add 15 more. Compared to any other state, we had 3 times the number of tests required for graduation! But I do not agree with those who want to completely eliminate K-12 standardized testing. We do need valid measures for comparing every school district’s progress in each grade.

So SOME standardized testing is essential and provides a valid basis for determining whether students are mastering the curriculum in the academic core areas such as reading, math, science, and social studies. Although many disagree, I believe students should be tested, in some nationally comparable way, in all grades K-12. I say that a nationally normed, end of year test in kindergarten and succeeding years won’t devastate children nor confine instruction only to “the test.” There are various  existing national tests useful for these purposes. These include the existing College Board SAT, ACT, Advanced Placement, and K-8 instruments such as the California Achievement Tests. (By the way, current “No Child Left Behind” rules won’t allow  such national tests to satisfy federal mandates — hence federal funding would be withheld.)

Nationally-normed test results can be disaggregated (as Texas tests are now) by ethnicity, English language learners, economically disadvantaged students, etc. Also, progress measures can be incorporated whereby individual student scores are compared to the previous year results. All such factors can continue to be built into the state’s accountability system using national tests. That would save Texas BILLIONS of dollars and NOT require a rewriting of the laudable Texas curriculum standards (TEKS). And Texas would know more than we do now about how we stack up against the rest of the nation.

We need not spend the entire year worrying about standardized tests to the exclusion of everything else schools now do. The testing emphasis in grades K-10 should be on diagnosis and intervention — such that a good foundation exists before high school. We can build upon those basic foundational skills in reading, math, science, and social studies as we continue to enrich the curriculum in other subjects and activities.

So here is my  proposal for Texas public school accountability:

1. Test at least 90% of the students on math and reading in grades K-9 using already existing nationally-normed tests. (Incidentally, this would greatly upset Pearson executives, whose testing company is a Texas monopoly!)

2. Test at least 90% of the students in social studies and science at the end of 5th and 8th grades.

3. Test at least 90% of the student body in grades 10-12 on the PSAT, SAT, and/or ACT.

4. Test at least 50% of each year’s graduating class on one or more College Board Advanced Placement tests.

5. Allow school districts to exclude up to 10% of the students from standardized tests who are identified as having valid disabilities.  Making such students take grade-level standardized tests is irrelevant and cruel.

6. Those who do not meet minimum graduation standards (as set by the state) on the PSAT, SAT, ACT, or AP tests can alternatively meet high school graduation requirements by successful attainment of rigorous career area certificates in various occupational fields. Such certifications would be earned in coordination with dual credit opportunities offered by community colleges and universities. Honor the hard training and occupations of the working man/woman! We need them more than society knows!

7. Use the Texas school financial accountability measures already in place. They are reasonable. These include the FIRST system, the FAST system, and elements of the TAPR. The TAPR already compares school districts on many different variables, including student achievement, completion rates, budget, staffing, taxes, etc.

8. Re-establish labels for overall achievement in school districts such as Exemplary, Recognized, Acceptable, and Unacceptable. But use fairer formulas to assign such labels. Take into account the measurable challenges they face (such as demographic variables, funding levels, language barriers, etc.). Ensure that the least-wealthy school district in Texas has equal opportunity for commendation — as compared to “silver spoon” districts.

Perhaps I’ve upset some through these ideas. But I believe such a system would be fair, competitive, and a significant improvement over the current state of affairs.

CONTACTING OUR SCHOOLS

Parents of today’s students have  unprecedented opportunities for rapid communication with our public schools.  The availability of email, websites, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets provides an entire new universe of tools and with it, an expectation for instant contact, particularly among younger parents.  We try to oblige…

Just one example:  As recently as 10 years ago, parents generally found out about their child’s progress through receiving a report card.  Perhaps they might also get an email, phone call, or handwritten note from the teacher when necessary.  As the father of seven children, I am amazed at the changes since then.  Here in Pearland ISD (for example), the Skyward system gives instant parental/student access for parents to view every posted grade.  Parents can receive automatic email alerts when their child’s grades are below expectations.  Thus, my wife (more than me) checks Skyward almost every day to determine how our children are doing,  whether they’ve turned in their  homework, how they did on the big test, etc.

With this convenience comes even greater desire for instant feedback from teachers when grade or discipline problems surface.  Frankly, our hard-working teachers often struggle to keep up with the demand.  Parents can forget that the typical  high school teacher may instruct as many as 150 students per day. Or that the typical elementary teacher is providing instruction in as many as five or six areas every day.  Consequently, they are not going to be instantly familiar with or available to answer the questions posed by a panic-stricken mom who just realized her child failed a major test – or is being sent to detention for name calling.

There is a middle ground somewhere between today’s expectations for instant communication – and the realities of a teacher/administrator workload.  Here are some things to keep in mind when parents desire communication on academic, discipline, extra-curricular, or other issues/problems:

• Follow the chain of command.  Begin with the person directly responsible for the problem/situation you’ve identified.  Usually, that means the teacher or the counselor serving your child.  Be nice.  It generally works a whole lot better.
• If the concern/problem is not solved at that initial level, then proceed to talk to the administrator on the campus (assistant principal or principal).  Again, realize that the principal is responsible for hundreds (or thousands) of students.
• Our board policy specifically states that  issues should first be approached informally and at the lowest level possible.  But if informal methods aren’t satisfactory, parents can use the formal complaint procedures as outlined in our board policy manual (available on our district website).
• When people jump over the chain of command and contact the board or superintendent first, the issue will be referred back down the chain of command to the appropriate person. Therefore, it is generally better to talk directly to the person involved rather than to go above their head.  In the long run, this produces much more lasting solutions and certainly better communication with the people daily serving your child.
• When you request an appointment, please don’t expect that to occur within the next hour or even within the next 12 hours unless it is a true emergency.  (A true emergency is not “My kid is failing, and I’m free in 20 minutes.”)
• If you e-mail or call to talk to a teacher/principal, it is reasonable to expect a response within 24  hours.  We emphasize this with our faculty/staff – as an expectation.
• In general, make use of the Golden Rule:  Treat the teachers and staff in the same way you want to be treated.

Frankly, our school district must now provide additional training to our people on enhanced customer service techniques.  Why?  In our society now, those who want instant gratification often shout and scream when they don’t get what they want at the instant they make contact.  Thus, training on the unreasonable “customer” is becoming increasingly necessary.

Unfortunately, those most likely to read this blog are NOT those who most need to hear this.  But perhaps the word will spread…And I so appreciate the majority of our parents who already know and practice these things!

COLLEGE PREP TEST RESULTS – ALL TIME HIGHS!

Skyrocketing Pearland ISD averages on the SAT test and other college prep indicators are reasons to celebrate!

The average SAT reading score in Pearland ISD for the class of 2014 is 515, Math 530, and Writing 500. When combined, this is an average score of 1545, compared to a Texas-wide average score of 1432. Our scores increased (in one year!) by 18 points in reading, 21 points in math, and 20 points in writing — while Texas-wide scores decreased on each of the 3 tests! These stellar results were accomplished even though we tested MORE students in 2014 than in 2013. (Approximately 65-70% of our graduating seniors take either or both the SAT and ACT before graduation.)

Similarly, our College Board ACT scores reached an all time high of 22.5. This compares to a state average of 20.9.

Not coincidentally, we’ve also experienced a massive increase in the number of students taking Pre-Advanced Placement and College Board Advanced Placement courses. These college-level courses are the best preparation for university study. Perhaps one of the most amazing statistics for the Pearland ISD graduating class is that 126 students achieved the national honor titled “Scholars with Distinction” for passing 5 or more AP tests. That’s a 40% increase over the previous year.

On top of that, we’ve seen a massive increase in the number of students taking dual credit (college/high school) courses within Pearland ISD. For the current year (2014-15) we have 2,270 students taking such courses — twice the number enrolled 5 years ago.

For charts/graphs on these figures, see this link:  Student Assessment Results – College Readiness

On top of the academic honors, these results represent a combined savings to PARENTS of millions of dollars in tuition when our students enroll in colleges and universities. For example, comparing the college hours earned in Pearland ISD with the tuition charged by Texas A&M, we calculated a collective savings of approximately $5.8 million. As the father of seven children, I can’t begin to tell you how valuable that is!

I am incredibly happy with these district results. Our students, teachers, and principals deserve primary credit. What are some of the contributing factors that accelerated student accomplishment in this area?

• The massive increase in Pre-AP and AP enrollment over the past several years — beginning in grade 5 and above
• The massive increase in the number of students taking college-level dual credit courses
• Last year, we began elective courses in SAT/ACT prep. Approximately 200 students took that course. We’ve also made available other commercially available SAT/ACT prep opportunities.
• We’re rewarding teachers whose students have both high participation rates and passing rates on AP tests. (We’re expanding our incentives this year to include results on the state-mandated STAAR and EOC tests.)
• Our Advanced Academics Department has been doing many different things to infuse college-level material/programs/classes into our district-wide efforts — and have tracked results. And new innovations/AP courses have just begun this 2014-15 school year.
• Our Curriculum & Instruction staff has worked to embed SAT/ACT/AP-level material into the standard curriculum for each grade level — and to train our teachers on its use.

Our people are working hard to sustain and enlarge upon these stellar results. In and of itself, that is a formidable challenge, but our people are incredible!